NFLPA calls out NFL over lack of daily COVID testing

Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter Jeff Lange via Imagn Content Services, LLC

NFLPA calls out NFL over lack of daily COVID-19 testing throughout season

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 12/15/21

NFL Players Association president and Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter stressed back in September ahead of the start of the season that all players, those vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who elected against receiving one of the available vaccines, should undergo daily coronavirus testing in an attempt to avoid outbreaks. However, the NFL chose to test vaccinated players only once per week, a decision that's come under scrutiny as multiple teams currently face worrisome COVID-19 issues that could derail playoff pushes and even lead to game postponements.

The NFLPA took to Twitter on Wednesday to blast the league about its testing practices.

The NFL decided to take away a critical weapon in our fight against the transmission of COVID-19 despite our union's call for daily testing months ago. We're talking to our player leadership & to the NFL about potential changes to the protocols so that we can complete the season. pic.twitter.com/r14HqZ2iMC
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) December 15, 2021

NFL general counsel Larry Ferazani told team executives Tuesday every club, not just those impacted by outbreaks, could soon enter enhanced COVID-19 protocols and, thus, be required to test all players for the virus daily regardless of vaccination statuses.

Tretter and other union members may understandably ask why such steps weren't taken sooner, particularly because it was assumed teams could record handfuls of positive coronavirus tests in the days and weeks coming off Thanksgiving and leading into Christmas.

"No one likes mitigation methods," Tretter wrote in a letter published on Sept. 7. "But we cannot do what is easy over what is right. We cannot do what is cheaper over what is right. We have been warned by our experts that, because of our current testing cadence, we are at more risk of missed games this season than last season. If we continue to go down this path, I need everyone in the football community to be aware of what lies ahead."

As of Wednesday afternoon, the NFL had not yet shifted or postponed any games scheduled for Week 15 that gets underway with Thursday's prime-time matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

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